Dancing and singing waiters? Been there, done that. How about Dancing Samurai Robot Waiters with goofy eyes and a toothy grin? Bring it on, right?
While Japanese food may be the fare at Thailand’s Hajime Robot Restaurant, these raw-fish serving robot attendants are the real attractions. A fully-automated sushi bar, clients can pick their orders from a touchscreen menu, take their seats and wait for the rolling bundles of steel to show up with their food. Dressed in traditional (okay, slightly traditional) Samurai garb, the robots not only serve the dishes, but also clean up after customers are done, all while entertaining patrons with a bevy of dance moves.
Imported from Japan, the Dancing Samurai Robot Waiters have two multi-jointed arms, along with claws that help them clamp on to a tray in each hand. According to restaurant owner Lapassarad Thanaphan, they currently have four working full-time in the restaurant, all for zero wages, which is as good a deal as you can probably get for labor these days. Even in Asia.
So how much does a Japanese restaurant with four dancing, table-waiting robots on the payroll cost to setup? Quite a hefty amount as it turns out, as Thanaphan forked out 30 million baht (around $930,000) as her initial investment. For the sheer joy of having robot waiters you can dress up as samurai warriors (or whatever you fancy, for that matter), that doesn’t sound bad at all. If I were her, I’d have these scraps of steel working as stay-in maids (plus exotic robot dancers) in my house too, all for no extra charge. Worth every penny.
[via DJ Mick]